Windows 10 & Windows 8

Windows 10 Tip: Which Apps and Desktop Programs Have Been Consuming Your Battery

Ever wonder why your Windows 10 laptop’s battery is running down faster than it’s advertised? It would be nice to know which apps are draining the battery the most, wouldn’t it? And here is how Windows 10 can help you track them down.

While leaving the laptop unplugged, open Settings app, go to System, then Battery saver to open the Overview page that shows you the current battery level and how much estimated battery life is left.

Then click Batter use, which opens a list showing battery use across all apps from the last 24 hours by default, including all running Windows desktop programs.

You can also choose a different time range from the drop-down list at the top but you only have 2 other limited options, 48-hour or 1 week.

Scroll down the list to see which apps are draining the juice the most. To get to know the details about how the battery is used in any specific apps from the list, click that app and the Details button that shows up.

Now you can see how much of that app’s usage was from the System or Display, or Wi-Fi. The most valuable detail here is how much that usage was used in Background when you might not have even been aware of it. You can then adjust background settings for Windows 10 apps to limit them from running if you don’t need them.

The Battery saver option is where you turn down on background tasks when the remaining battery level drops below a threshold you define, which is set at 20% by default.